Hi everyone! I'm Oscar, a '28 from Flushing, NYC. On campus you'll find me studying in Novack, lounging in the First Generation Office, or designing for the DALI Lab. I'm passionate about giving back to my community, fiber arts, and em dashes. Welcome to my blog—I'm excited to explore Dartmouth together!
COSC 1 was the most challenging but rewarding class of this term. I had minimal coding experience prior to this class, but the course is manageable because of all the support available. COSC 1 is one of the largest classes offered at Dartmouth—a total of 200 students split in two sections—but there was always ample help from Professor Vasanta's classes and concept hours and the TA team's recitation and office hours. I enjoyed that assignments had creative flexibility—I recreated "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" book cover, wrote an adventure story, and made games for assignments.
I had completed my language requirement by taking CHIN 4 in my last term, but I was interested in further pursuing Chinese through CHIN 22. CHIN 22 is very similar in structure to CHIN 4—small class size, vocabulary exams, and drill sessions. I was lucky to take CHIN 22 with the Beijing Normal University's exchange professor, Professor Yin, who often adds color to lessons by explaining cultural element of China. Some interesting topics we've discussed include the effects of China's One Child Policy, transportation regulations in Beijing, and the symbolism of snow in Chinese culture.
With the development of generative artificial intelligence (AI), why learn design when ChatGPT can create it for you? CSDA 21 (Computer Science/Digital Arts 21, previously known as COSC 21) argues for the importance of human agency in design (and why AI-generated designs are flawed). Using Adobe Photoshop and After Effects, we explored a range of topics, including typography, poster design, generative AI, and motion graphics. Professor Mahoney is an incredibly supportive teacher with deep knowledge of the creative industry—make sure to go to office hours if you take the course! As CSDA 21 was my first digital arts class, I’m excited to explore the department more!
I spent this summer studying Mandarin Chinese on the Beijing LSA+! It as a fast-paced, immersive experience that greatly increased my confidence in speaking and reading Mandarin. From ordering breakfast, to navigating public transit, every interaction was an opportunity to exercise my Mandarin skills. This study abroad counts as a regular 3-credit Dartmouth term, where I took two Chinese courses: CHIN 31 and CHIN 32, and a third Asian Societies, Cultures, and Languages (ASCL) course. We also traveled to other areas in China—Shandong, Xi'An, and Chengdu, visiting numerous historical sites, temples, and museums, and of course, see pandas. This experience greatly developed my understanding not only of the Chinese language, but also Chinese culture.
Our adventures continue in Ulanqab, Inner Mongolia! If you're not caught up, this past summer I studied Mandarin Chinese at Beijing Language Study Abroad (LSA)+. As the program came to an end, we used our last free weekend to plan a trip to Inner Mongolia. In the last part, we took the high-speed rail to Ulanqab, watched the sunset on top of a volcano, and spent the night in a Mongolian yurt. This part covers the second half of our trip, where we frolicked in the grasslands, visited 黄花沟 (the Yellow Flower Ravine), and headed back to Ulanqab's city center.
Good Morning!
Our day started bright and early as we had packed our schedule full of a ton of activities. We had a quick breakfast in our yurts and loaded our belongings back into the van as we checked out. Our first stop today is 辉腾锡勒草原 (the Huitengxilie Grasslands), where we're going horse riding, getting up to other grassland fun.
Some horses came over to say hello!
Horseriding, grass sledding, archery… and a train?
When we reached our destination, our bus driver helped guide us to the different activities in the tourist area. First on our list—and what most of our trippees were the most excited for—was horseback riding!
Honestly, I was terrified. This was my first time riding a horse, and I was so scared of falling off a horse and getting injured. Thankfully, we had amazing guides who walked us through the basics of horseback riding and led us on a stroll through the grassland. My group's guide was incredibly sweet. We talked about our experiences studying abroad, helped her practice a bit of English, and learned about life working in the Huitengxilie Grassland's tourist industry.
We ended our horseback riding experience with a gallop around the area. Again, terrified of horses, but 入乡随俗 (a Chinese phrase similar in meaning to "when in Rome, do as the Romans do"). I held on tight as we cantered through lush fields dotted with multicolored wildflowers, glad that I faced a fear and tried something new.
Besides horse riding, our passes to this tourist area included a variety of activities such as go-kart racing, archery, and something I've never heard of before—grass sledding. Grass sledding is kind of like a roller coaster, but it's on the ground. You sit back in a cart and get pushed down a track, gaining speed as you zoom down the hill. Somehow, we made it competitive, and we put all of our effort into pushing the carts as hard as we could, trying to see who could fly down the track the fastest.
Meanwhile, other parts of the group spread throughout the area, trying out the various activities laid out. Somehow, one of us finds a toy train, probably designed for children, which is supposed to be driven in a loop around a natural lake nearby. This photo of a bunch of college students piled on this little yellow train is such a funny memory.
My friend Iman, after she shot a (not pictured) bullseye!
Lunch
After our morning on the grasslands, we headed back to the yurts to have lunch. It was a simple meal featuring some of our favorites from dinner last night and a couple of new dishes. Again, the yogurt was a crowd favorite. The restaurant had even run out, and our hosts had to drive into town to buy more!
黄花沟 - Yellow Flower Ravine
With our bellies full, we headed to our next activity for the day, exploring Huitengxile Grassland's Yellow Flower Ravine. The ravine is a popular tourist spot in Ulanqab, known for a combination of staggering craggy cliffs and expansive grasslands dotted with yellow flowers.
Our group is pretty adventurous, so in three hours we made it through a majority of the northern section of the scenic area, walking through the main ravine and taking a chairlift out of the ravine and onto the southern cliff. We were racing against the clock to get back to Ulanqab city before dinnertime, so we skipped through most of the south end. But its definitely worth spending an entire day to see things we missed like the waterfalls, wildflower meadow, and traditional performances.
Up, up, and away!
The rolling fields on the ravine's southern side
Back to 乌兰察布 - Ulanqab
By the time we reached our hotel in Ulanqab, the sun was just about to set, and we were really hungry. We checked in, dropped our belongings in our rooms, and headed into town to look for dinner. Somehow, we stumbled upon a night market, hawking different goods and games, but most importantly, offering a variety of street foods like 烤鱿鱼串 grilled squid skewers, 手抓肉 hand-pulled lamb, and 臭豆腐 fermented stinky tofu.
We got quite distracted by the night market, but eventually refocused on our goal of getting dinner. Since we were traveling with dietary restrictions, we landed on a 清真 halal restaurant, which made ordering a lot easier. We ate our fill, then explored the night market, trying snacks, playing games, and dancing through the night.
Joined in on 广场舞 square dancing!
Stinky tofu taste test!?
Goodbye Ulanqab!
Our last breakfast in Ulanqab
For our last day in Ulanqab, everyone split off to explore the city on their own. A few friends and I stayed in and took the morning slow. For breakfast, we headed to a 烧卖 shaomai (a type of dumpling) place nearby. I'm used to the Cantonese-style shaomai, a ground pork and mushroom filling wrapped in a yellow dough, so it was really interesting to try Inner Mongolia's much larger, lamb-stuffed shaomai. We had them two ways, steamed and pan-fried, with a side dish of braised beef.
We had some travel complications with our LSA's culminating trip to 西安 Xi'An and 成都 Chengdu, so we decided to get back to Beijing to sort those out quickly, bringing us to the end of our trip to Ulanqab.
While I was writing this blog and reflecting on this trip, I'm really grateful for the people who came along. Despite the long travel times, getting lost quite a bit, and a few technical difficulties, everyone was so patient and understanding. Somehow, our group made even waiting in traffic fun. Ulanqab was such an amazing experience because of the people I was with.
About Ulanqab itself, it was incredible to experience first-hand a different side of China. Prior to to Beijing LSA+, I had a monolithic understanding of China, mostly urban and Han-centric (focused on the Han ethnicity, the majority of China's population). This experience introduced me to the cultural vibrancy and diversity among China's provinces and has encouraged me to explore more of Chinese culture—I'm already thinking of my next trip to parts of Southern China!
Before my internship in Italy, I spent two terms studying in Rome. How did those experiences help prepare me for my current position? Well, let me explain!
One of the most unique traditions at Dartmouth is sophomore summer, where students stay on campus to take classes the summer before their junior year. My sophomore summer has been an incredibly special experience!
Instead of spending sophomore summer on campus, I pursued an internship in Hong Kong, where Dartmouth's alumni network and fellow students helped me to I find community, friendship, and adventure that made my summer just as memorable.
